The worms begin to demolish the TPIEC and one of Roos's allies makes a personal sacrifice to try and protect people. Down below, Natum Vijf meets the speaker of the voice and gets an inkling of the purpose of the structure.
[NOTES] A Quick Recap
The Tritons continue to move from the ruins, now armed with weapons and some sort of crab-like mech. Natum Vijf pushes deeper into the Triton ruins, following a strange voice and greater amounts of heat. On the surface of the ruins, Willem Havik is unable to follow the Tritons and unable to go deeper into the ruins. He waits for Natum.
Near the TPIEC hub of human habitation for Tartan, Roos Ellis has been working with O.T. and Hoshi to evacuate people before the Tartan Worms demolish the building. However, Este Harmond is also there and has tried to assassinate Hoshi using the nano-retro-virus.
Now two forces with destructive capability are zeroing in on Roos and between them might be the secret to De Wittespin and the strange plot to drive worker robots mad.
[DESIGN] Custom Oracle "finished"
Briefly, the planned custom oracle for De Havikmannen is up and running. It combines "Interstellar Bounty Hunters" and "Arcane Agents" with two additional icons [so far].
This should help add in some more variation to scenes and other oracle checks.
SCENE VIJFTIEN [Roos]
{Cut Palm + Minions} {ᚠ - Fehu. Livestock/Wealth} {1 - Agility} {6 - Hard} {Crown: New België and its agents} {..and another crown}
O.T. Kerven is going to sacrifice his anonymity to actively try and take control of the situation. While the Tartan Corp is entangled in this, it is New België's people who are in danger. However, his interest is in protecting the "livestock." Aka, he knows if TPIEC falls, the people might be too stranded to be rescued before death increases.
Roos is going to need to fly The Claw to try and distract the worms.
TWIST CHECK (d6): (6) vs 3,5 = As Expected.
O.T. KERVEN: Roos, can you get to your ship?
ROOS ELLIS (looking back towards the still functional port): Should be, why?
O.T.: If you can blast the worms, you might be able to pull them off course. If not, then we will have proof they are coming for something specific.
ROOS: Willem is going to fuss at me flying The Claw.
O.T.: You man would rather de gebrow is onploft?
ROOS (sighing): Ah, nee...
O.T. turns and starts talking to Hoshi. Asking her to try and get her people out of the area. He pulls out his badge and starts flashing it. As the highest-ranking NBOB operative, he is claiming control over the situation.
Roos makes a sprint towards the port as another building falls. This one is only a couple of blocks away. They are within a half kilometer and within minutes will be under the outer edges of the TPIEC.
- We'll go for 3 Effort in 3 or fewer turns, Normal Agile:
- 4,4,2 = None.
- 4,3,2 = None.
- 6,4,3 = 1.
- Roos in unable to get to The Claw before the worms burst through so some damage is taking place.
- 3d6 vs 3d8 = 1,2,4 vs 4,8,5 = 3 losses.
- Does O.T. survive? (5+) >> [4], 2, 3 = No.
- Did he sneak any data to Roos before hand? (4+) >> [6], 2, 2 = No, but... one of his minions will.
Unfortunately, by the time she has started up the engines she turns the ship around to see a star-ship sized worm punching through the "south" end of the TPIEC. By the time she is back and firing, a group of people have gathered and seem to be assisting O.T.. They look like small miniatures down below. Firing laser blasts into the hide of the worm, trying to get its attention.
Before she can even pull the ship's guns and start joining them in the shooting, a second worm erupts right underneath O.T. and some of his helpers and the people fall into the maw of the creature.
ROOS: NO! DAMMIT!
- {Hard Agile} >> 6, 3, 1 = 1 Success.
She nails the worm which just swallowed O.T. and sweeps across the first one. A third one is coming up but she doesn't have time to aim for it as she starts pulling The Claw back.
- Do the worms follow? (4+) >> [1], 4, 2 = No, and... the gunshots are having a notable effect. The worms are taking fatal damage, just not stopping. They are acting like they are being controlled.
She keeps blasting and the second worm is nearly dead, but the first and third [and two more that have surfaced] continue to chew through the outer edge of the TPIEC.
She lands The CLAW near to where O.T. disappeared and shouts for people to run to her. A few of these people, she just now realizes they are all agents of New België, pile on board.
MAN: Ben je Roos Ellis?
ROOS: Ja?
MAN: Kerven heeft mij dit gegeven om aan jou te geven.
Then he hands her a small data disk. As she flies The Claw away from the wreckage, one of the massive chunks of the TPIEC comes crashing down.
SCENE ZESTIEN [Natum Vijf]
{Shaking Hands + Cat} {ᚾ - Naudiz. Need/Distress} {3 Crafty} {6 Hard}
Dang, rolls are hard in this one.
The speaker Natum Vijf heard which is somehow catlike is having troubles. More Tritons are about to wake up and its job to keep them asleep is failing.
BUT...Natum needs to figure out how to communicate with the creature.
TWIST CHECK (d6) >> (1) vs 4, 5 = Major Twist >> Moon (Kionites) + {Biohazard + Manacles}. The creature is a Kionite and the virus which was used in the Corp War is actually somehow connected to this creature who is trapped here in a constant state of evolution.
Natum Vijf pushes further into the structure until he comes out into a large chamber the size of a small space port. Along the wall, hundreds of tubes glowing red hot go from the floor to the ceiling. A few are dark. Many, many more are flashing a strange series of colored lights. Getting closer, he sees the creatures inside are much like the ones that went up the latter. Dark, glowing through cracks. Spikes jutting off at odd angles from their three-armed, three-legged, headless bodies.
The voice changes pitch and Natum Vijf turns to see the center of the room holds a large dais. On top of it is a massive cat-like creature with silvery skin and several glowing tentacles attaching to copper cables. No, not attached: trapped by. The creature is a prisoner here.
CREATURE: 격리 필드가 실패했습니다!
Natum Vijf shakes his head to show he does not understand but the creature does not seem to understand the gesture.
CREATURE: 서둘러야 해!
It then lifts one of its six-paws and starts gesturing for Natum to come closer. Natum does. While doing so, he tries to process to the language to the best of his capabilities. He is not a communication robot, but Willem has installed a few basic language modules to try and communicate with various folks in their tasks.
- {Hard Craft} >> 3, 6, 5 = 1 Success!
CREATURE: 제발, 도와주세요.
...which, after a few seconds of processing, starts to trickle across filters. It is like an older variation on Kionite language, which is in Natum's databases. He comes out the creature just said...
CREATURE: Please, help me.
Natum does some math to try and figure out some alterations.
NATUM VIJF: 방법? [Method?]
CREATURE: 금속 상자가 필요해요. 갇혔어요. [I need a metal box. I am trapped.]
NATUM: 어느 상자요? [Which box?]
As he asks this, the creature is only a few meters away and one of the tentacles from its back comes unstuck and it jabs a blade like structure towards Natum.
- {Easy - Hard} >> 5 = {Normal Agile} >> 5, 2 = 1 Success.
Natum jumps back. Now noticing the strange green growth on the creature's skin. The virus that attacked Lon.
CREATURE: 제발! [Please!]
NATUM: 날 죽이려는 거야? [Are you trying to kill me?]
CREATURE: 아니요, 상자가 필요해요. [No, I need a box.]
NATUM: 이건 어떻게 될까요? [What will happen to this one?]
CREATURE: 너는 내 상자가 될 거야. [You will be my box.]
As the creature says this, a strange tri-tone alarm goes off and one of the super-heated tubes shuts off. Soon, one of the dark creatures starts crawling out of it, still dazed by the high temperature.
Natum looks to the silver, cat-like creature and gives his assent.
The blade stabs Natum and...
- Does the virus affect robots? (5+) >> [1], 3, 1 >> No, and... though it is changing. Not yet, but it can find away, but this is good thing [for the creature] since it means Natum has time to do the job before the virus possibly destroys him.
...Natum feels the creature's consciousness start pulling into his mind.
Soon, his entire robotic mind is replaced by a single thought: a giant, gleaming feline smile.
[NOTES] Doug's Commentary
Once I got "cat" and started dealing with a cat that is constantly changing its shape and biology due to a rampaging virus, the notion of the Cheshire Cat was right there [hence the smile at the end]. I like it. I want to do something fun with it.
O.T. was a potentially fun character but that's the way some scenes go, I suppose. Dice were stacked against everyone in that one. I don't know what happened to Hoshi but I assume she is still alive for now.
With the way the oracles are going, I think it is pretty much a given that whatever is up with De Wittenspin, it is also linked to these ruins. In the way the CorpWar was using Triton tech (or ancient Kionite tech) which was modified, the programming is likely also a byproduct of something Tritonite/Kionite.
I used Korean to represent the Kionite language because normally I use Dutch and the main characters use Dutch quite frequently so I needed something different. I was listening to NMIXX's new album at the time so it all made sense to me to go that way. I do not speak a lick of Korean so that is pure Google Translate with the prompt sentences sometimes being a bit strange on purpose.